Bathtub installation



Jan. 10, 1961 P. M. CORP BATHTUB INSTALLATION, ETC.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 22, 1959 FFL INVENTOR.

PAUL M CORP Jan. 10, 1961 P. M.- CORP BATHTUB INSTALLATION, ETC.

Filed April 22, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. PAUL M. CORP BY%KM ATTORNEY$ United States Patent BATHTUB INSTALLATION, ETC.

Paul M. Corp, Alliance, Ohio, :assignor to Allianceware,

Inc., Alliance, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 22, 1959, Ser. No. 808,203

4 Claims. (Cl. 4-173) This invention relates to a new type of bathtub installation. It includes an adapter. .in a bathroom wall in which the rim of a bathtub may readily be inserted and covered with removable means for holding the same in place.

The novel type of bathtub installation permits ready installation and removal of a tub, and thereby provides not only a ready method for the original installation of the tub, but permits removal and replacement of the tub from time to time as required. Thus, if an installed tub is damaged, as by chipping, it is readily replaced by a perfect tub. Also, whenever the color. scheme ofa bathroom is changed, the tub formerly used can be removed and replaced by a tub of a color which harmonizes. with the new color scheme. The replacement of the tub is not limited to such special situations, but is made Whenever desirable.

The installation includes an adapter in the one or more walls against which the tub is to be located. This adapter provides a relatively horizontal surface-which supports the rim of the tub and is tall enoughv to accommodate an up-turned flange on the rim of the tub. Resilient cover means protects the rim and up-turned flange in the adapter so as to prevent water from seeping down in back of it.

The adapter is fastened to the basic Wallstructure, and in a new building this is done before the wall has been finished. Screws or the like are. used. if this basic structure be ordinary studding, and if the wall.be .a masonry wall, expansion bolts can be used. Usually, the

- wall is not finished below the adapter. 'Above the adapter it is finished in any usual way with a waterprooffinish which is brought into sealing contact with the top of the adapter. The portion of the floor to be covered by the tub is usually not finished.

The tub is a sheet-metal tub, usually provided with an apron which extends from the rim to the floor along the one or more exposed edges of the tub. The tub is free hanging, ie it -is supported above the floor level by the apron and by the rim which is supported by the adapter. If the tub fits into a niche, there will be an apron extending from the rim to the floor on the front side of the tub, and the rim on the other three sides of the tub will be provided with-turned-up flanges supported in adapters. If the tub fits into acorner there will be an apron on two sides and the rim on the other two sides will be supported in an adapter. Occasionally there will be an apron on three exposed sides of the tub, with only the fourth side supported by an adapter.

The adapter is designed so that the upturned flange on the rim of the tub will fit into it. This presents no particular problem, if only one edge of the tub is to be fitted into an adapter. If the tub be located in a niche, the adapter in the two end walls will usually terminate near the forward corners of these walls, and suitable cover means will be provided, such as that shown in the drawings. Alternatively, the adapter may extend around the entire room as a part of the wall design, with a cover made ofplastic. -which supports the back and end rim-6 of the tub. The

2,9673% Patented Jan. 10, 1961 strip in it. If the tub be located in a corner the adapter need not extend along the wall beyond the tub location,

because the rim .on two sides of the tub can be fit into a right-angled adapter, by moving the tub into the corner drawings.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a sectional view in perspective, showing the front, back and one end of a bathtub installed in a niche in a wall;

Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional details on the lines 22 and 3-3, respectively, of Fig. 4 showing the adapter supporting the rim of a tub;

Fig. 4 is a front view on the line 33 of Fig. 2 showing the adapter supporting the rim of the tub, with the tub partially cut away along the rim, and a portion of the cover of the adapter broken away; and

Figs. 5 and 6 are enlarged horizontal sections on the lines 5-5 and 66, respectively, of Fig. 1.

The tub '5 may be of any usual design. The rim 6 is shown as bent out and then down at 7 along the front edge, and turned back at 8. An apron 9 is welded or otherwise fastened to the turned-back portion 8. This structure is only illustrative, andany means of supporting the rim on the apron can be used. At the rear and also along both ends of the tub, the rim of the tub isturned up at 12. The apron 9 is supported on the rough flooring 15 which, in turn, is supported by the joists 16.

The adapter 20 is fastened to the studding 21 by screws 22 (Fig. 3) or other suitable means. If the studdingis .spaced a standard distance, openings 23 for the screws 22 may be formed in the adapter before it is received on the If not, suitable openings will be provided'atthe time the adapter is installed.

The adapter 20 is an extruded element. Ordinarilyit will be made ofaluminum or othermetal, but it may be It is provided with a bottom lip 25 adapter must therefore be of strong construction. It is shown as being channel shaped which is advantageous but not necessary. vFor instance,- the forward face, in-

stead of being perpendicular as shown in Fig. 2, may

slope forwardly or to the rear. Water which drains from the upper portion of the wall is prevented from seeping down in back of the up-turned flange 12 by the overhangingportion 26 of the adapter.

The adapter advantageously provides a continuous sup- ;port for the rim along those sides of the tub that abut a wall, but the support neednot be continuous. The bottom 25 of the adapter, instead of being continuous, may be made up of, a number of shorter supporting areas spaced from one another. Such spaced supporting areas .can be provided in an adapter that is. continuous, or a 3 plurality of narrow spaced adapters can be used.

Tapped openings 28 are; provided at intervalsinor through the adapter. A resilient cushioning material 30 which may be quite soft and rubbery, or less resilient and more like polyethylene or a polyvinyl plastic, is fastened into the channel of the adapter by studs 32. It forms a water-tight seal, particularly with the top 26 of the adapter. The covering 30 may have an outer surface of harder material lined wholly or in part with resilient cushioning material. The bottom of the back surface of the strip 30 is preferably cut away to accommo date the turned-up flange 12 at the rim of the tub. Alternatively, the bottom portion of the face of the adapter may be indented to accommodate the rim.

Before finishing the bathroom, the adapter 20 is fastened in place. The top of the adapter 26 projects forwardly and forms a support for the wall finish. Over the tub, plaster 35 of the wall comes down only to the adapter, and tiling or other finishing 36 placed in front of the plaster also comes down only to the adapter. Any other wall finish suitable for a bathroom can be used, and it is brought down in sealing contact with the top of the adapter. This is stepped out over the tub. The plaster 35 and tiling 36' of the rest of the wall are in a different plane. Studding 21 which supports the plaster, etc. over the tub is preferably stepped forward. (Figs. 5 and 6.)

The lip 38 of the cover strip 30 is drawn tight against the bottom corner of the tile, and forms a tight seal which prevents seepage of water between the strip 30 and the tile, into the body of the adapter. Although preferably of uniform composition throughout, the lip 38 of the cover strip may be more resilient than the balance.

The adapter along the rear of the tub includes the lip 25 which together with the apron supports the tub and whatever it contains. The adapter along the short ends at the head and foot of a tub which is supported in a niche need not carry any weight and, therefore, need not be provided with such a lip. However, usually the adapter will be of uniform construction on all sides of the tub, and all wall sides of the tub installation will usually be of uniform construction. The adapter is preferably extruded and cut to lengths as desired, although it may be cast in one piece.

The linoleum or other floor finish 45 covers the rough flooring and abuts the bottom edge of the apron 9. Alternatively, the apron may rest on the floor covering.

In providing such an installation, the adapter is first put in place. It must be perfectly level. Shims or the like may be used behind it, if the studding is not properly located. The adapter for the back edge and one or two ends of the tub may be supplied as a single unit, but preferably each straight element will be supplied separately and the elements may be suitably interlocked at the corners. After installation of the adapter, the tub is moved into position with the turned-up flange in the adapter, and then the strip 30 is fastened in the adapter by the studs 32 over the turned up flange 12.

No special structure is required at the front of the adapter 20. It is cut off square. The front of the cushion 30 is rounded at 30' (Fig. 6) and the lip 38 is rounded at 38' (Fig. 5) to present a finished appearance. The entire cushion 30 is preferably molded as a unit in sizes and shapes to meet standard tub sizes and installations. The unitary strip is more waterproof than several smaller strips, and is more decorative.

The wall and floor are finished either before or after the tub is installed. Whenever it becomes necessary or desirable to replace the tub, the studs 32 are removed and the cover strip 30 is taken from the adapter. If the floor finish comes just to the apron, the front edge of the tub is lifted first to bring the bottom of the apron above this finish. The turned-up rear flange on the rim of the tub is then removed from the adapter by whatever movement is necessary. The old tub is taken away and the new tub is then put in place and the strips 3% are again fastened in place by the studs 32.

The invention is covered in the claims which follow.

What I claim is:

1. The combination of a bathtub and a bathroom floor and wall, which wall is composed of a basic wall structure with a finish thereover, the tub having an apron along one edge for support of that edge, the tub having a rim along another edge by which it is supported with the edge of said rim turned up as a flange, a bathtub adapter along the latter edge of the tub which adapter is supported by the basic wall structure, a lower portion of the outer face of said adapter comprising a forwardly extending portion generally complementary to at least a part of the bottom of said rim with said part of the rim resting thereon, a resilient waterproof covering against the exposed face of the adapter from near the top of the adapter to the rim of the tub, with an upper portion of the rear surface of said covering complementary to the outer face of the upper portion of the adapter, with said wall finish in sealing contact with the top of the adapter with the top of said resilient waterproof covering overlying the wall finish which is immediately above the adapter and in water-tight contact therewith, said wall being unfinished below the adapter, the bottom of the tub being supported above the floor at least in part by said apron and by said support of the rim by the adapter.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which the adapter is a member of uniform cross section with the upper portion thereof overhanging the turned-up edge of the tub, and waterproof covering being of molded resilient plastic.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which the wall is also adjacent the back and one end of the tub, the rim of the tub is turned up as a flange along both the back and said end of the tub, the adapter is supported by the wall adjacent the back and said end of the tub, the rim at both the back and said end of the tub are supported by the adapter, the top of the adapter extends over the flange along both the back and said end of the tub, and the waterproof covering closes the front of the adapter at both the back and said end of the tub and also closes the front end of the adapter at said end of the tub, the entire length of the adapter being provided with a lip at the top thereof which overlies a portion of the top of the adapter immediately behind it.

4. The combination of a bathtub and bathroom wall, the bathtub having a rim extending outwardly from the top of at least a portion of the tub which rim drains toward the tub, an adapter fastened to the wall of the bathroom with a portion of the adapter extending forward from its forward face and supporting the rim thereon, and removable molded plastic closure means covering the exposed outer face of the adapter and in water-tight contact with the adapter with its bottom edge in watertight contact with the rim of the tub.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,999,467 Lucke Apr. 30, 1935 2,010,791 Sakier Aug. 6, 1935 2,017,710 Clark Oct. 15, 1935 2,219,409 Boyd et a1. Oct. 29, 1940 meanl UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATION OF CORRECTION Patent N0o 2,967,309 January 10, 1961 Paul M, Corp It is hereby certified that error eppears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 4, line 29, after "and insert the Signed and sealed this 30th day of May 1961,-

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER DAVID L. LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

